The Elm-Chanted Forest

The Elm-Chanted Forest
Directed by	Milan Blažeković Doro Vlado Hreljanovic
Produced by	Doro Vlado Hreljanovic Carroll Rue Vlado Teresak
Written by	Fred P. Sharkey Suncana Skrinjaric
Starring	David Earls Edward Eyrich Charles Forrest Simon Hefter Chris Helmer Eric Needham Francesca Picchi Paul Powers Carroll Rue Lauren Shanahan David Spelvin Mark Surkin Anna Tornhill
Music by	Dennis Leogrande
Cinematography	Ernest Gregl
Studio	Croatia Film Fantasy Forest Films Inc.
Distributed by	United States: Celebrity Home Entertainment's Just for Kids[1]
Release date(s)	Yugoslavia: 1986 United States: 4 January 1989 (VHS)[1]
Running time	83 min.
Country	Yugoslavia United States
Language	Croatian

The Elm-Chanted Forest (Čudesna šuma) is a 1986 U.S./Yugoslavian animated musical movie; in the U.S., it is also known as Fantasy Forest. It was the first full-length film directed by Milan Blažeković, and also the first animated feature produced in what is now Croatia.^[2] It spawned a 1989 sequel, The Magician's Hat (Čarobnjakov šešir), which was seldom seen outside its home country.

Plot summary

After an artist named Peter Palette takes a nap under an enchanted elm tree, he discovers that he now has the ability to communicate with the animals of the forest, and that his paintbrush now has magical powers. To help his new friends survive, he must use his abilities to stop the evil Cactus King from turning the forest into a desert.

Main characters

• Peter Pallette: The main protagonist of the movie. He has the ability to communicate with the animals in the forest.

• J. Edgar Beaver: A small beaver who is the owner of the saloon in the forest.

• Bud E. Bear: A large yet friendly bear with who is one of the mostly accompanying animals to Peter. He sometimes goes to J. Edgar's saloon in the forest.

• Fifi Fox: A beautiful and delicate female fox who loves the beauty of nature. She has a French accent.

• Do, Ray, and Mee: A trio of hedgehog siblings who join the others in their quest after they are orphaned.

• Cactus King (AKA. Emperor Spine): The main antagonist of the movie. He plans to destroy the forest and replace with a desert. His henchmen are called the Spinetinglers. He also hates beavers.

• Thistle: The Cactus King's timid apprentice. He tries anything possible to please the Cactus King, but to no avail.

Release

In the U.S., Celebrity Home Entertainment's Just for Kids label released The Elm-Chanted Forest on VHS and Beta on 4 January 1989.^[1] In late 2007, both this film and its sequel were released on DVD in the countries of former Yugoslavia by Happy TV.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Home Video Guide". The Palm Beach Post: p. TGIF 22. 1988-12-30. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FsEqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cs0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3526,5990927&dq=elm-chanted-forest&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
2. ^ Škrabalo, Ivo (2004). "Film programmes". HFS Zagreb. http://www.filmski-programi.hr/english/tekst.php?id=96. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 

External links

• The Elm-Chanted Forest at AllRovi
• The Elm-Chanted Forest at the Internet Movie Database
• The Elm-Chanted Forest at the Big Cartoon DataBase